BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) – The Ohio AFL-CIO is rallying communities across the state with the message that “Right to Work” is wrong.

Nearly 130 people showed up at Tuesday’s meeting in Boardman. Community, union and elected leaders came to learn more about the fight against possible legislation. The goal is to educate people now in case the issue comes up and lawmakers move quickly.

“What this would do is prohibit the employer and the union from negotiating the union security clause which means workers could decide whether they want to pay their dues or not. And that’s just not fair for anybody,” said Tim Burga, Ohio AFL-CIO President. “In the event that this moves, then we’ll be able to start to educate and advocate and mobilize against it in a real fashion.”

“Every ‘right to work’ state in this country has ended up being poorer, less educated and sicker than it was before it adopted ‘right to work’ legislation and we’re just not interested in going down that path for Ohio,” said Joe Rugola, OAPSE/AFSCME Director. “But the reality is that Ohio’s already seen two ‘right to work’ laws proposed in 2013. So it isn’t just a question of preparing for some remote possibility.”

This was the second of about a dozen meetings the Ohio AFL-CIO plans to host in 2014 across the state.

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